When we did the Presidential Fitness Challenge in school, I was always the girl who finished the mile last and did the least amount of crunches. I went through most of my life just thinking that was my fate: to be out of shape and uncomfortable working out. I'd see people I knew being active and think, "I wish I had been born like that." I felt the same way later in life, too. I tried the gym but struggled so much that I gave up and canceled my expensive membership. Plus, being around so many super-fit people only made me focus on how out of shape I was! Then I discovered BodyBoss.

I do HR at an accounting company in the city. Part of my job is doing bi-yearly performance evaluations to help determine who gets a raise or promotion. A woman came in who looked familiar, but I couldn't place her, which I thought was odd since it's my job to know everyone in the company. When I realized why she looked so different, I was shocked: she'd lost over 30 lbs since I saw her six months ago. I asked how she did it and she said, " BodyBoss," a 12-week program where you follow along with a book or videos to do at-home workouts, three times a week for 24 minutes. I thought there was no way she could have lost that much weight by doing such short workouts, but she said they were designed specifically for maximum impact, with something called the Boss Effect so you burn more calories even when your workout is over, and she found extra motivation from their online community. But I still didn't understand how someone who was out-of-shape like me could make such a big change. "Oh, I just committed to it. They help you with a free bonus month of 'pre-training' if you're out of shape. Plus, they have all these yummy meal plans, and when I starting eating a few superfoods like blueberries, almonds, chocolate, and green tea, my energy increased, it got easier, and after several weeks I saw results."

Exercise was so hard for me that I just couldn't imagine it getting any easier. I didn't want to get invested only to be disappointed again. Curious, I went on the BodyBosswebsite. There were so many before and after pictures of women who had committed to the program and saw amazing results. A lot of them just like me! Thirty-something, with a kid or two, married and working. And their stories sounded like mine; they didn't believe in themselves, didn't have time to work out, and didn't feel comfortable at the gym. I read through community posts and there were so many women telling one another to keep going and that the results would come. What stuck out the most was how many women with amazing body transformations thought they could never do it and had avoided even trying, just like me.

For the first time, I didn't feel alone. Plus, they have a 30-day guarantee. That inspired me to order the 12-week Ultimate Body Fitness Guide. I'm not going to lie: it was challenging. I'd never worked out seriously, so it was a lot to learn and get used to, especially in the first week when I was so out of shape. I also joined the online group every Monday for the free Facebook LIVE sessions where we got helpful tips, recipes and answers to our questions from Kim Lyons, the top trainer from one of my favorite TV weight-loss shows, The Biggest Loser. She's a busy woman, like me, she's so nice and she helped me so much!

One of the exercises you do with BodyBossto tone your booty and jiggly thighs is called squats with a side leg lift -- that's when you do this little squat and then lift your leg out to the side. I posted in the community about struggling to finish a single set of twelve and feeling frustrated that I was so out of shape and my balance was so wobbly. Woman after woman commented, "That was me too." "Try holding the back of a chair, or do the modified version at first, but just don't quit!" And then something amazing happened: I started to get better! By week 5 I was doing 3 sets with no problem! That happened with the whole program. By committing to doing the workouts 3 times a week, for 12 weeks, eventually, I went down several jeans sizes and even started wearing lower-waist yoga pants and leggings once in a while. I was feeling strong and able to workout confidently for the first time in my entire life. I wanted to go back to high school and tell that young girl that she really could achieve whatever she wants!

Starting around five weeks people starting asking me if I was losing weight, and my clothes fit much looser, but I didn't really understand how much of a difference the program made until I took an "after" picture for myself. I shared my progress with the online community, and Shannon, the co-worker who inspired me, commented, "Wow! Now you're keeping me going!"

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